Thursday, December 12, 2013

It's official. Ohio is now Texas.

It is official. Ohio is now Texas. For what seemed like forever carrying a concealed weapon was illegal in Ohio. There were no permits. All you had was an affirmative defense if you were caught. A business owner, for example, carrying large amounts of cash for deposit. Ohio's gun laws were no more crazy than most States. And more repressive than many.

Then came the 21st Century. The future. A new Millennium. When one would think we, as a people, would be moving forward, we decided to remake every bad western ever by relaxing our gun laws to the point of bare existence.

First concealed carry was shoved through the Republican Legislature over the very strong objections of law enforcement. Then it was made legal to carry in an establishment that serves liquor. You can be in a bar but you can't drink and carry. After all one shouldn't be inconvenienced by having to leave your weapon in your vehicle. Then it was decided letting people keep firearms in their car in the parking garage beneath the Statehouse was a good idea. Again a person who has a weapon shouldn't be inconvenienced.

Like most of the radical Republicans across the country the Second Amendment is sacrosanct. The others? Suggestions.

So, here in the Christmas season of Peace and Goodwill a gift is offered to the oppressed gun owners of Ohio. Anyone with a Concealed Handgun permit will now be able to carry any legal firearm, concealed. Anyone twenty-one or older who may own a firearm would be allowed to Concealed Carry with no permit required. Remember, this is Ohio. The frontier closed here 200 years ago. These aren't the cities of Dodge or Tombstone.

There is a reason for requiring permits.The person is trained(admittedly sort of trained,like a CPR class kind of training.). People who aren't allowed to have a firearm can't get a permit. So, felons for example, can't legally carry, concealed or otherwise. Or those who for what ever reason can not legally own a weapon. It's a measure of control over who walks our streets with a firearm on their hip under their shirt or jacket or in a purse. The State has an interest here.As Introduced

To amend sections 109.69, 109.731, 1547.69, 2923.11, 2923.12, 2923.121, 2923.122, 2923.123, 2923.124, 2923.125, 2923.126, 2923.128, 2923.129, 2923.1210, 2923.1213, 2923.16, and 4749.10, and to enact section 2923.111 of the Revised Code to allow a person who has a concealed handgun license to carry concealed all firearms other than dangerous ordnance or firearms that state or federal law prohibits the person from possessing; to provide that a person 21 years of age or older and not legally prohibited from possessing or receiving a firearm by federal law does not need a concealed handgun license in order to carry or have concealed on the person's person or ready at hand a firearm and is subject to the same laws regarding carrying a concealed firearm as a person who has a concealed handgun license; and to amend the versions of sections 2923.124 and 2923.126 of the Revised Code that are scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2014, to continue the provisions of this act on and after that effective date.

Businesses are allowed to forbid weapons on their premises. This has caused some consternation among gun advocates that their right to carry is curtailed. It seems the business owner's right to run a safe weapons free establishment is secondary to the gun owner's in their mind. I seem to recall scattered protests when the law was passed but it's pretty much settled down to business as usual. The reasonable gun owner will respect the businesses rules. The unreasonable ones will carry in anyway requiring law enforcement to step in.

This is already being called Constitutional Carry. It's as if the Second Amendment gives any person the absolute right to carry a concealed weapon, simply because they want to. These people believe any regulation of firearms curtails their God Given right to scare the shit out of the general populace at will.

We see this in the old wild west and the God and Guns Old Confederacy. You don't see this much in the Old Union States. For years no one saw the need for concealed carry in Ohio. Then the gun enthusiasts pushed concealed carry through a friendly legislature after being stymied by Republican Governors who opposed on advice from law enforcement. Now, this legislature, after all the Gun Violence we've witnessed over the last couple decades, feel a compelling need to let anyone carry, concealed.

Maybe we should look at campaign contributions from the NRA? Maybe we should drug test them because they must be loaded or high to even consider this bill. Perhaps sanity will stop this from even getting out of committee. Though, I don't look at the current Legislature as excessively sane.

The climate in the United States is such we should not be gutting gun laws to allow a vocal minority the right to put our safety at risk. Their rights end where my right not to be shot starts. This is beyond the usual Tea Party insanity seen here in Ohio. We were sane. Now we're Texas. God help us all.